Chapter 6 - The Safe Corridor
The hidden door opened onto a staircase.
Dominic went first.
I followed.
The air smelled damp.
Stone walls surrounded us.
This wasn't part of the mansion plans.
“Where does this go?”
“Outside the estate.”
“You built this?”
“My father did.”
“Why?”
“For emergencies.”
We reached the bottom.
A narrow tunnel stretched ahead.
Dominic stopped.
“Stay behind me.”
“I can protect myself.”
“I know.”
“Then stop saying it.”
He looked at me.
For one strange second, despite everything, we almost smiled.
Then we heard footsteps.
Dominic raised his gun.
I grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
The footsteps stopped.
A small voice called:
“Bea?”
My heart jumped.
“Leo!”
I ran forward.
Dominic caught me.
“Slowly.”
A flashlight appeared.
One of the guards stepped out carrying Leo.
Leo immediately reached for me.
I hugged him.
He buried his face against my neck.
“I wasn't scared.”
“You were brave.”
He whispered:
“Mr. Calvin told me Daddy would come.”
Dominic stiffened.
“Where is Calvin?”
Leo pointed behind him.
“He was there.”
Dominic moved.
But the tunnel was empty.
A guard searched the passage.
Nothing.
Then Leo whispered:
“He told me not to trust the man with the silver ring.”
Dominic and I looked at each other.
“Did he say who?”
Leo shook his head.
“He said he wasn't the bad man.”
Dominic crouched.
“Leo, listen to me. Who took you?”
Leo pointed toward the tunnel.
“A lady.”
My heart stopped.
“What lady?”
“She smelled like flowers.”
Dominic's face went pale.
“Did she say her name?”
Leo nodded.
“Mommy.”
The world seemed to tilt.
Dominic stood.
“No.”
Leo looked confused.
“She said she was my mommy.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
I touched his arm.
“Dominic.”
He opened them.
Something had changed.
He looked frightened.
Not angry.
Frightened.
A guard approached.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found this in the tunnel.”
It was a small perfume bottle.
Dominic stared at it.
“That's hers.”
“Whose?”
He didn't answer.
He walked away.
I followed.
“Dominic.”
He stopped.
“I need to know.”
“She used that perfume.”
“You believe Leo saw his mother?”
“I don't know what I believe.”
He turned toward me.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“If she's alive, she isn't the person who took Leo.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Leo was returned.”
That answer made no sense.
Then Dominic's phone buzzed.
A photograph arrived.
It showed Leo asleep in the tunnel.
Beside him stood a woman.
Her face was partially hidden.
But I recognized the necklace around her throat.
Dominic had once shown me that necklace.
It belonged to Leo's mother.
I stared at the screen.
“She's alive.”
Dominic said nothing.
Then another message arrived.
ASK DOMINIC WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT LEO WAS BORN.
I looked at him.
His face had gone completely blank.
“What happened?”
He didn't answer.
“Dominic.”
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He finally said:
“Leo wasn't the only child born that night.”
